States facing budget crunches leave schools in red

WASHINGTON – School districts are awash in red ink, with debt rising 13 percent in the 2000-01 school year to almost $202 billion, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.

The debt has resulted mostly from school construction projects. Experts don’t expect districts to earmark much additional money for debt repayment, however, because state and local governments face budget shortfalls of their own that could lead to their sending less money to schools.

Some districts facing budget cuts are delaying renovations or waiting another year to buy new textbooks or computers. Other districts are turning to little things to save money, like rationing chalk or paper.

“Education is such a sacred cow, usually in an economic downturn, it doesn’t get hit as hard,” said Steve Smith, education policy analyst at the National Council of State Legislatures. “But given the magnitude of the budget crisis today, it’s on the table.”

For instance, 17 states made cuts in K-12 funding last year, Smith said.

The latest Census Bureau report covers the 2000-01 school year, a period during which the economy slipped into recession. Data came from an annual survey of state and local governments and school districts.

School spending rose 7 percent to about $7,284 per pupil, but wide variations exist among states and communities. Among states, New York and New Jersey topped the list, each spending nearly $11,000 per pupil. Connecticut spent $9,200.

Arizona and Mississippi were among the lowest, each spending less than $5,200 per student, while Tennessee spent more than $5,600 per pupil.

About 93 percent of school district revenues come from state and local governments, the latter relying largely on property taxes.

Michael Pons, a policy analyst with the National Education Association, said with many states facing huge budget shortfalls, spending on schools could take its biggest hit in 20 years when the new budget year starts in the coming months.

When the economy was booming in the late 1990s, states and communities poured money into building new schools and renovating old ones. Most projects were funded by voter-approved bond issues that brought with them many years of debt payments.

“The fact that schools are in debt because of school construction doesn’t have much to do with the recession,” Pons said. “The fact is, these were unmet needs that had to be addressed.”

Besides construction needs, school districts face other expensive requirements, from technology to teachers. Districts in growing areas, particularly the South and West, have seen an influx of Hispanic immigrants, many of whom need special attention because of language.

Texas had the highest debt at $25.5 billion in 2001, up from $21.6 billion the previous year. Texas’ elementary and secondary school enrollment of more than 4 million students trails only California, which has more than 6 million students.

States have the added burden of meeting new guidelines established last year in the No Child Left Behind Act. Under the law, states must devise and offer tests in reading and mathematics for every child each year in grades three through eight, beginning in fall 2005.